Description
Book SynopsisEsther Newton tells the story of Cherry Grove, the popular gay and lesbian resort community off of Long Island. Newton discusses the importance of camp, gay theater and the intersections of race, gender, class and sexuality in America's first gay and lesbian town.
Trade Review"An ambitious history. . . . Newton should be applauded for writing sympathetically about people who were remarkably resilient in the face of enormous homophobia."
* The Nation *
"
Cherry Grove, Fire Island stands as an important document of gay and lesbian life in the twentieth century. Newton makes a convincing case for Cherry Grove as America's first gay town and its influence on gay culture by describing the central place of drag in Cherry Grove history, the impact of the Arts Project as the first theater by gays for gays, and the need for a place such as Cherry Grove where gay men and lesbians could associate in public." -- Karen Wilson * Lambda Book Report *
"Life at the Grove is always viewed through the prism of history, showing how such events as the Great Depression, World War II, McCarthyism and, of course, the 1969 Stonewall riots, which marked the beginning of the modern gay and lesbian rights movement, affected gay Grovers. That attention, and [Newton's] obvious affection for her subject—and subjects—propels the book effortlessly through the decades."
* Boston Globe *
"Newton shines, weaving stunning anecdotes of violence and humiliations among her descriptions of fabulous parties and sex. . . . Her empathy conveys the enormous integrity of people whose most radical gesture was to be fabulous in the face of hate."
* Village Voice *
"A monumental achievement and invaluable contribution to gay and lesbian studies."
-- Donna Penn * GLQ *
"Groundbreaking." -- Carl Luss * Gay & Lesbian Review *
"Newton has written a soundly researched cultural history of this unique homosexual summer retreat. . . . Based on interviews with 46 former and current residents, [Newton] chronicles the colony's development from an isolated few cabins to a thriving, commercial, publicized community with Mafia-run discos and occasional police raids." * Publishers Weekly *
"Esther Newton documents the town's history from its gay beginnings in the 1930s through the first decade following Stonewall, utilizing as her primary resource interviews with . . . Cherry Grove residents. All of these narrators . . . love their town, and repeatedly tell of their joy in first finding themselves there. . . . Although the Grove has had its share of straight-gay and owner-renter clashes, and has never been free of racism, anti-Semitism, or misogyny, it still emerges as a special place; Newton's affection for it is palpable." -- Vera Wisman * Women's Review of Books *
"Newton foregrounds the role of lesbians and analyzes their invisibility and minority status in the community. She is also sensitive to how race and class function in the Grove, considering both the community's heterogeneity and the structures of exclusion that limit its boundaries. . . . The patience and love with which Newton . . . [has] acted . . . to make [her] narrators' histories heard provides a wealth of material for analysis." -- Ann Cvetkovich * Signs *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xi
Preface to the 2014 Edition xv
Prologue 1
Part I. How the Grove Became Gay: 1936–1945 13
1. "Built upon the Sand" 15
Part II. The Gay Country Club: 1946–1959 37
2. The Battle for the Beach 43
3. Conviviality and Camp 68
4. Trouble in Paradise 94
Part III. The Nation Takes Shape: 1960–1969 109
5. The Rise of Gay Commercialism 113
6. The Geometry of Gay Prejudice 142
7. Plays, Parties, and Sex 170
Part IV. The "Lithuanians" and the "Doughnut Rack": The Lesbian Minority, 1936–1980 203
8. The "Fun Gay Ladies" 207
9. "Just One of the 'Boys'" 221
Part VI. The Grove after Stonewall: 1970–1980 235
10. The Ad Hoc Committee to Save Cherry Grove 243
11. Bored on the Fourth of July 266
Epilogue 285
Appendix on Methods 301
Notes 305
Narrators 349
References Cited 353
Index 369
